http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opnscvwp/1071959.pdf
Decision of the Supreme Court of Virginia that certain provisions of the 2007 transportation legislation, which set up regional taxing authorities in northern Virginia and Hampton Roads are unconstitutional. The court ruled that the General Assembly’s power to tax could not be delegated to an unelected regional body. From the Supreme Court of Virginia.
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22812_20080220.pdf
Discusses constitutional considerations facing both individual states and Congress in enacting hate crime legislation. From the Congressional Research Service, posted by OpenCRS.org.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL30699.pdf
Discusses who has such weapons of mass destruction, the risk of proliferation, and other trends regarding NBC weapons and missiles. From the Congressional Research Service, posted by the Federation of American Scientists.
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/ccdb07.html
Latest edition of a compendium of statistics on cities and counties in the U.S. Features 15 tables on counties and 12 on cities and places including topics like population, education, crime, income and poverty. From the Census Bureau.
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf
Argues that China’s army is transforming itself from a mass army designed for wars of attrition on its territory to one capable of fighting short-duration, high-intensity conflicts against high-tech adversaries. Reviews Chinese military force, strategy and doctrine. Latest annual report from the Department of Defense.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34394.pdf
Presents a detailed discussion of the pros and cons of the treaty from a U.S. perspective. The U.S. has not signed the treaty, though 178 nations have signed it. Focuses on several key questions including whether the U.S. nuclear deterrence can be maintained without testing, whether monitoring and verification measures are adequate, and how the treaty relates to issues of nuclear proliferation and disarmament. From the Congressional Research Service, posted by the Federation of American Scientists
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08281.pdf
In 2006 consumers paid over $36 billion in fees associated with checking and savings accounts. This report investigates the trends in the types and amounts of such bank fees since 2000, to what extent federal regulators are overseeing the use of such fees, and how transparent these fees are to consumers opening accounts. Such fees have risen by 10% or more since 2000 and, despite disclosure requirements, information on the fees is hard to come by. From the Government Accountability Office.